The updated combat vehicle of the Russian army will be presented to specialists at the international arms exhibition, which will be held in the city of Nizhny Tagil from September 8 to 11, 2011. Experts already believe that the appearance of the modernized T-90S tank at the Russian arms exhibition will make a strong impression not only on domestic specialists, but also to the delegations of foreign countries. So far, the T-90S itself has never been demonstrated, and all the subtleties of its new functionality remain a closely guarded secret, but something about the new tank is already known. You can watch photos and videos here: Upgraded T-90S "Tagil" in all its glory
This is a truly modern machine that meets the main requirements of combat in a wide variety of conditions. The tank is somewhat heavier than the previous modifications and now weighs exactly 48 tons. It would seem that such a mass could make this armored complex excessively inert, but the speed of the tests suggests otherwise. So the speed of the tank on a flat surface is about 60 km / h. Although this is lower than the speed of the German Leopard (2A6) and the American M1A2SEP, the level of pressure per unit area of the Russian development is 10% lower than that of foreign analogues. At the same time, the specific capacity of the T-90S, despite the almost 15 tons difference with foreign competitors, is no less than the specific capacity of the same M1A2SEP and amounts to 24 "horses" per 1 ton.
It is worth noting that the electronic "stuffing" of the modernized Russian tank will be no worse and in some ways even surpass the foreign versions in basic technical parameters. The T-90S tank is equipped with a so-called panoramic sight, which, thanks to the presence of rear-view cameras, allows monitoring the situation around the tank and aiming the gun at the target much faster than all foreign counterparts. If we talk about the gun itself, then this is the 125-mm 2A46M-5 cannon operating in the mode of 40-round ammunition load, of which 22 charges are ready for direct use. Thanks to the chrome-plated barrel, its resource is increased by 70%. This is a real success for the developers, because with intensive firing, tanks of previous generations could lose their combat effectiveness due to dysfunctions of the gun.
Despite the seemingly impressive characteristics, there are also critics of the tank. At the same time, criticism often boils down to what people say about the low efficiency of the tank in the conditions of modern combat operations. However, representatives of the developer company are already saying that none of the existing anti-tank guided missiles is able to disable the T-90S. Such reliability of the tank is provided by an upgraded anti-damage system. The innovative approaches of engineers to solving this problem allowed the tank to receive special modules with dynamic protection of tank frontal projections as protective elements. In addition, the machine is equipped with protection against shrapnel variants of hitting the hull on the basis of high-strength shields resistant to mechanical stress. The armor protection of the side projections of the T-90S allows the crew of the vehicle not to feel vulnerable, even if the tank is under a side attack from the enemy.
The vehicle is driven by 3 people, two of whom (the gunner and the crew commander) are in the turret compartment of the tank. The crew can participate in the development of tactical plans directly in conditions of combat contact with the enemy, communicating via a special digital channel with the operation leadership. Also, the T-90S is equipped with a system for conducting intra-facility negotiations on the basis of a dedicated frequency range.
The tank uses two navigation systems at once: satellite and inertial. This combination will allow the crew to track the coordinates of their vehicle even in terrain with limited capabilities for the functioning of communication channels. The recent military conflicts involving American tanks with the Taliban forces in Afghanistan have shown that even GPS navigation is not always effective, but the inertial system will come to real help in this case.
I would like to believe that the modernized Russian tank will soon appear in service with our army without breaking contracts and other negative manifestations. Indeed, recently there has been a tendency more and more often when new military equipment seems to be produced by the defense industry, but the Ministry of Defense is delaying the adoption of positive decisions on its purchase.
The expected presence of Vladimir Putin at the Nizhny Tagil exhibition should push the parties to a possible agreement to closer cooperation with real results of interaction.
